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With over 400,000 copies sold, What Is a Jew? is the classic guide that answers 100 of the most commonly asked questions about Jewish life and customs.

Completely revised and reorganized, this guide to the traditions, beliefs, and practices of Judaism—for both Jews and non-Jews—tackles a wide range of subjects in a question-and-answer format. Ideal for conversion students, interfaith couples, and congregants seeking answers to essential day-to-day issues.

Introduction to the New Edition

xi

Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman

Introduction to the First Edition

xvii

Rabbi Morris N. Kertzer

The Saga of the Jew

xviii

A Road Map of Jewish Community, Past and Present

1

(32)

What Is a Jew?

7

(2)

What Are Orthodox Jews?

9

(1)

What Are Reform Jews?

10

(3)

What Are Conservative Jews?

13

(2)

What Are Reconstructionist Jews?

15

(2)

What Is a Chavurah?

17

(1)

Who Were the Pharisees?

18

(1)

Who Were ``the Rabbis''?

19

(1)

Who Are the Chasidim?

20

(3)

What Are Ashkenazim and Sephardim?

23

(2)

What Are Zionists?

25

(3)

Who Speaks with Authority for the Jews?

28

(2)

What Is the Relationship between the Jewish Community and the Larger Community in which Jews Live?

30

(3)

The Way to God: A Life of Torah

33

(30)

What Is Torah?

39

(2)

What Is the Jewish Bible?

41

(3)

Do Jews Believe Literally in the Bible?

44

(2)

Do Jews Still Follow All the Biblical Laws, Even the Harsh Ones Like ``An Eye for an Eye''?

46

(1)

What Is the Talmud?

47

(3)

What Is Midrash?

50

(2)

Is There a Single Book of Jewish Law?

52

(1)

What Is Halachah?

53

(3)

How Do Jews Read the Bible?

56

(1)

What Is Kabbalah?

57

(3)

Is There Such a Thing as Jewish Music?

60

(1)

Is There Such a Thing as Jewish Art?

61

(2)

Rituals and Customs: The Warmth of Tradition

63

(38)

What Is a Mitzvah?

71

(1)

How Do Jews Decide What Rules to Keep?

72

(2)

Are Some Jewish Customs Just Superstition?

74

(2)

What Are Rabbis and What Do They Do?

76

(3)

What Is a Cantor (a Chazzan)?

79

(2)

Is There a Priesthood in Judaism?

81

(2)

What Are the Most Important Prayers that Jews Recite?

83

(3)

What Is a Minyan? Are Some Prayers Said Only if Ten or More People Are Present?

86

(1)

What Is ``Keeping Kosher''?

87

(3)

What Special Clothes Do Jews Wear?

90

(4)

Are There Special Jewish Foods?

94

(2)

Do Jews Have Their Own Language?

96

(2)

What Jewish Meal Rituals Are There?

98

(3)

Basic Jewish Beliefs: ``God, Torah, Israel''

101

(28)

What in General Do Jews Believe?

107

(3)

What Are the Principal Tenets of Judaism?

110

(1)

What Do Jews Believe about God?

111

(2)

Do Jews Believe that Judaism Is the Only True Religion?

113

(1)

Do Jews Consider Themselves the Chosen People?

114

(1)

What Is the Jewish Concept of Sin?

115

(2)

Do Jews Believe in Life after Death?

117

(1)

Do Jews Believe in the Coming of the Messiah?

118

(2)

Do Jews Believe Literally in Satan?

120

(1)

Do Jews Believe in Fate?

121

(1)

Do Jews Believe in Prophecy?

122

(2)

Do Jews Believe in Being Saved?

124

(1)

Do Jews Believe in God's Grace?

124

(1)

Is Judaism a Spiritual Religion or an Ethnic Identity?

125

(4)

Making Hard Decisions: A Guide to the Moral Landscape

129

(34)

What Is the Basis for Jewish Moral Decision Making?

137

(2)

Does the Jewish Religion Allow Birth Control or Abortion?

139

(2)

Do Jews Favor Capital Punishment?

141

(1)

What Is the Jewish Attitude toward Suicide and Euthanasia (Mercy Killing)?